Tetsuya Kuroko
Tetsuya Kuroko is the main protagonist of the manga Kuroko no Basuke. He was the mysterious phantom sixth player of the Generation of Miracles. He now plays as a regular with Seirin. Appearance Kuroko is very small for being a basketball player. He has light blue hair that he styles to the right. His eyes are blank blue. His skin is quite pale. He wears the jersey with number 11. He also sometimes wears black sweatbands. His basketball shoes are white. When out of training or matches, he wears his school uniform: a black vest zipped up to his chin with blue lines on the sleeves and vertically in the middle. He also wears regular black pants. Personality Kuroko has a deadpan and straight forward personality. He is very hard working and always tries to the needs of the team above his own. He is quite gloomy and unnoticable, a trait that goes well with his misdirection. He has also displayed much respect towards fellow basketball passionates and thinks that while senpais have pride, kōhais have respect.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 24, page 3 He has portraited himself as a "shadow".Kuroko no Basuke chapter 1, page 30 With this he means that he is playing for someone else, and that he becomes stronger when the "light" is stronger. With the "light", he means the person he plays with, in the past was that Aomine and now it is Kagami. History Back in middle school, Kuroko attended Teikō High School. He joined the basketball team and because of his special skills, he became a regular there. He was part of the team that later would be called the Generation of Miracles. Back then, he was the personal instructor of Kise, who still was a rookie.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 62.5, page 4&5 While playing, he had the number 15. In Teikō, he also first met Momoi. By giving her free icecream, she instantly fell in love with him.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 38, page 14 Story Introduction Kuroko first appears on his first day in Seirin High. He walks through the mass of people who are being pursued by the clubs to join their club, but Kuroko isn't spoken to, because he makes himself invisible. He searches for the school's basketball club and fills in an application form, without Riko noticing him. Koganei sees the paper later and Riko is surprised that she didn't notice one of the Generation of Miracles.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 1, page 11 Later, on the first training, Riko uses her scanning ability on everyone on the team. She didn't see Kuroko and wonders where he is, while the rest of the team haven't seen him either. Riko decides that he's not here and shouts that they'll begin the training without him. However, Kuroko was standing in front of her and he tells her that he's right here.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 1, page 18 Riko and all the others are shocked to see him standing there, because they haven't noticed him at all. Riko orders him to take of his shirt so that she can see his stats again, but concludes that he's fairly weak compared to the rest of the team. Later, after training, Kagami goes to a fast-food restaurant, orders a lot of burgers and has a seet at a random table. Coincidentally, Kuroko is sitting at the same table. He notices Kagami's amount of food and comments that he is still growing. Kagami didn't notice Kuroko yet and is surprised to see him. Kagami asks what he is doing and Kuroko replies that he has simply been watching people.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 1, page 21 Kagami tells him to come with him for a bit. They arrive at a small basketball court and Kagami asks what Kuroko is hiding. He tells Kuroko that he has been basketballing in America and that Japan is much weaker than America. He goes on by saying that he plays basketball for the thrill and that he has heard about the Generation of Miracles. He explains Kuroko that can smell an opponents smell to some extent. He says that Kuroko should smell weak, but he can't smell anything. It's like Kuroko is odorless. He passes Kuroko the ball and challenges him to a match, to see how Kuroko is like for himself. Kuroko says that he has been planning on playing a one-on-one as well. He takes off his jacket and throws it to the side. They begin playing one-on-one. The match is quickly decided, as Kuroko is desperatly weak in comparison to Kagami. Kuroko tries to shoot, but misses or gets bocked, fumbles the ball and is much slower the Kagami. Kagami thinks by himself that Kuroko's movements are that of an amateur.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 1, page 27 He yells at Kuroko, saying that he's overestimating himself when he thinks he can win like that. Kuroko denies, saying that Kagami is obviously the stronger one. Kuroko says that he just wanted to see Kagami's strength. Kagami prepares to leave, while telling Kuroko that he's weak and that he should just stop playing basketball. Kuroko replies that he's different from Kagami and mysteriously says that he's a shadow. The next day, the Seirin freshmen play against the second years in a practice match. While Kagami is hogging all the points, Kuroko is again proven to be weak and gets the ball stolen multiple times. When the second years het serious and build up a 16 point lead, Kagami gets angry, only for Kuroko to calm him down.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 1, page 40 Riko thinks by herself that she has totally forgot about Kuroko even being there. The game restarts and Kuroko asks the ball from Fukuda. Fukuda passes the ball and Kuroko immediately redirects the ball to Furihata, who was under the basket and scores a simple lay-up. Kuroko goes on with his invisible passes, leading to the freshmen scoring a lot and coming back into the game. The other Seirin players amaze themselves over Kuroko's ability and Riko is able to analyze it. Kuroko gains Kagami's attention and somewhat respect and the mini-game is almost over. The first-years were still one point behind and when Kuroko steals a second-years ball, he drives to the basket, makes a lay-up... But misses. All of sudden, an angered Kagami appears behind Kuroko and he dunks the ball in, marking their first victory.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 1, page 50 That evening, Kuroko and Kagami meet again at the Maji Burger, with Kagami getting annoyed because they encounter each other yet again. Kagami gives Kuroko one of his burgers, telling him he acknowledges him. moving out of the restaurant, Kagami asks Kuroko how strong the Generation actually is. Kuroko replies that when Kagami would go up against them now, he would be instantly killed. He says that they have all gone to different schools and that one of these will be standing at the top. Kagami shouts his resolve, defeating the Generation of Miracles and Kuroko says that's unlikely. Yet, Kuroko says he found his resolve as well. He says that he will make Kagami the strongest of Japan, to be his supporting shadow.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 1, page 55 Seirin vs Kaijō Interhigh preliminaries Semi-finals Finals Final league Return of Kiyoshi Summer Training Camp Interhigh Pre-Winter Cup Kuroko arrives at Seirin's training a little late and announces that he brought a dog in a box. He tells them that he found the dog in the park of Seirin High School and couldn't bear leaving it, so he took it to practice. Meanwhile, the dog has crawled up Kuroko's head and shaking his tail. Izuki looks at the dog more closely and asks if the dog doesn't remind them of someone. It turns out that the dog resembles Kuroko a lot, so Koga decides to call him Tetsuya #2.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 74, page 7 When Kagami confesses his fear for dogs, Kuroko chases him with Tetsuya #2 on purpose. The club later votes to keep the dog, with only Kagami opposing. Kuroko sadly asks Kagami if he wants to abandon the doggie a second time. Riko tells Kuroko that i'll be difficult to keep him, but Kuroko proposes that if he can get Kagami to like Tetsuya #2, that they will keep him.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 74, page 11 Riko accepts and Kuroko takes Tetsuya #2 along with Seirin's jogging. Back in the gym, Seirin starts training and when Kuroko makes a succesful invisible pass, Tetsuya #2 barks and seems happy. Kuroko plays further with Tetsuya #2, only annoying the hell out of Kagami. Eventually, Tetsuya #2 poops into Kagami's sneakers and an enraged Kagami washes them outside. Kuroko approaches him and asks him why he doesn't simply accept Tetsuya #2. He tries to convince Kagami that #2 is a good dog and that he could just try to pet him. They are disturbed by Kawahara, who calls Kuroko inside. Kuroko leaves #2 with Kagami and they reconcile. Winter Cup preliminaries Final league Winter Training Camp Winter Cup Kuroko joins Seirin at the opening ceremony of the Winter Cup. When the ceremony was finished, Kuroko receives a text message on his cellphone. He tells Riko that he has to go, he has been summoned. He tells the team he is going to see his former captain, the leader of the Generation of Miracles, Akashi.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 113, page 5 Riko sends Furihata along. Kuroko meets up with his fellow Generation of Miracles and while Aomine makes fun of him at having a chaperone, Kuroko greets them. They talk casually untill Akashi arrives. He greets them all and demands that Furihata leaves. Kagami finally arrives and like Furihata, Kuroko is surprised and happy to see him. Akashi attacks Kagami with Midorima's scissors and Kuroko is seen shocked like everyone else. Akashi leaves again and says to the rest that it seems they haven't forgotten their oath they made last year.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 114, page 1 He departs by saying that the next time they will meet, will be in battle. Seirin's first match of the Winter Cup is about to begin and Kuroko fetches Kagami from the locker room. Kuroko looks worried, but Kagami sets him at ease, saying that he isn't thinking about Akashi, but about Aomine. When the match begins, Kuroko approaches Aomine. Recalling his past experiences with Aomine, from their last match, to their friendship and his promise with Momoi, he declares to Aomine that they will definitely win this time.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 114, page 15 Aomine agrees to settle it for good. Both teams line up and the match commences. Seirin gets the ball at the tip off, but it gets stolen by Tōō's pressure defense. Sakurai passes to Aomine, who does an alley-oop and scores the first point. Following Riko's orders given before the match, Seirin quickly passes to Kuroko, who pulls up for his Ignite Pass Kai, intending to pass to Kiyoshi.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 115, page 17 Facing Aomine, Kuroko doesn't even activate his Misdirection on him, showing confidence in the strength of his new pass. He puts much power in his legs, rotates his arm and hits the ball with the palm of his hand, also spinning. The ball spirals besides Aomine, knocking his hand away, and eventually reaches Kiyoshi, who receives the ball with effort. Kiyoshi, after facing Wakamatsu, passes to Kagami and he dunks the ball. In the audience, the Generation of Miracles amaze themselves over Kuroko's new pass. Aomine approaches him and says that he has gotten a bit more interesting. Kuroko responds that if Aomine thought they would be the same as before, then he would be dissapointed.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 116, page 12 Back to the game, Imayoshi gives a high pass to Susa. Kuroko is guarding him but can't do anything because Susa is much bigger than Kuroko and because of the high pass, he also can't use his misdirection and steal it. Skill Though Kuroko is extremely fragile, fairly weak and distressingly slow, Kuroko's talents allow him to play a central role in any team. Possessing a superbly observant eye in addition to his ability to blend in invisibly to any environment, Kuroko can perform imperceptible passes and virtually unstoppable steals, getting the ball to and between his teammates faster than opponents can react. His near-invisibility makes him highly susceptible to on-court injuries however, this is not effective indefinitely. If he is left in play too long, opponents grow used to his misdirection tactics; as such, he must be placed on the bench at varying points in any match to prevent this. He mostly plays on the position of small forward, but in recent chapters his stats list his position as a questionmark. Why this, is as of yet unknown. * 's ball using his misdirection]]Misdirection: Accordingly to his gloomy and silent personality, he is pretty hard to notice. In adition to that, he has also developped a playing technique using that "invisibility". He simply behaves as if another player will get the ball and not him. He pushes the opponents to focuse their attention to someone else and then steps in unexpectedly. When the opponent can't see him, it is much easier to steal the ball. Misdirection is a technique that fools the opponent's senses. This is how he got his nickname, the "phantom player".Kuroko no Basuke chapter 1, page 47 * Invisible Pass: Following from his misdirection, Kuroko uses himself as a relay for passes and redirects the ball to another player by just gently touching it. He receives the ball from another player and immediatly changes its course to a free player. This pass is very hard to predict and almost always leads to a goal. * Full court pass: When the opponents score, Kuroko takes the ball, spins avery fast and releases the ball to fly across the whole court. The pass is very fast and powerful, and flies in a straight line. He first showed this in the game against Shūtoku High, in a fast-break with Kagami against Midorima.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 26, page 16&17 In their second match, Kuroko showed his full court pass without spinning first.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 87, page 12 * Ignite Pass: As an extension of his regular pass, Kuroko can also move the ball even quicker. He only does this if his imperceptible pass can be intercepted at some point. When he receives the ball, he punches it directly to a free player. This way, the force behind the pass will increase greatly and the ball will move much faster. This pass is also called the Acceleration Pass. But because this pass is very powerful, only some players can catch it succesfully. In Seirin, Kuroko only passes this way to Kagami and occasionally to Teppei Kiyoshi.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 78, page 16 * Ignite Pass Kai: A new, upgraded version of the Ignite Pass. Instead of just punching the ball with the palm of his hand, he also puts a strong spin on it. He spins his arm and wrist round and round and creates a rotation around the ball. By doing this, like a gunshot, Kuroko puts more acceleration and power behind the pass by transferring the rotation of his arm to the ball. The ball is so strong that it can pass the Generation's ace, Aomine. He learned this in the winter training camp, under leading of Kagetora. * with his invisible drive]]Vanishing drive: After being soundly defeated by Daiki Aomine, Kuroko trains himself to evolve his play style. Given the absolute presence and importance of the ball in play, it had been previously thought impossible for Kuroko to maintain his misdirection while in possession of the ball; as such the time he spends handling the ball on court is extremely minimal. He has overcome this previous limitation, and has developed the ability to imperceptibly move past players while dribbling the ball, creating his own 'vanishing' drive. The ability is effective enough to pass through the defenses of Shintarō Midorima, a members of the Generation of Miracles, and can also pass Takao's Hawk's Eye.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 91, page 18 Kazuya Hara has speculated that Kuroko uses blinking to get passed the defense, but this has been proven wrong. The real explanation of this skill was given by Midorima, in Seirin's second match against Tōō. The skill is basically a cross-diagonal move to where the opponent's eye field can't see. Kuroko bends over in a specific angle at drives following a specific route, that the opponent has it very difficult to follow.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 119, page 5 But the real Vanishing Drive is a collaboration with Kagami. Similar to Kuroko's misdirection, Kagami draws the attention of the opponent to him, just for a second, and that makes it possible for Kuroko to pass his opponent successfully. The only one so far to have beaten the Vanishing Drive, is Aomine. He countered it and stole the ball by closing his eyes, making Kagami's misdirection ineffective. He just followed Kuroko's breath and because of their mutual understanding about basketball, Aomine was able to crush down the Vansihing Drive.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 119, page 14 * Kuroko Kagami alley-oop: A move that Kuroko and Kagami often execute. One of the opponents tries to pass, but Kuroko intercepts the ball. He smacks the ball onto the ground in the direction of the basket. Kagami jumps high in the sky, grabs the ball and dunks it in. They have first showed this in the match against Shinkyō AcademyKuroko no Basuke chapter 15, page 4, 5 & 6 and did it again in the game against Seihō High.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 22, page 7 & 8 Trivia *On the first character poll, Kuroko ranked first, with 2625 votes. He won again on the second poll, this time with 2242 votes. *His name, Kuroko, is an actual Japanese term. It stands for "stagehands" in Japanese theater.Kuroko on Wikipedia The stagehands are the roles of animals, puppets, objects,... fullfilled by the hands of a regular actor. But only his hands are seen, the actor himself is supposed to be "invisible". This is a clear reference to Kuroko's playing style. *The kanji 黒 (Kuro) in his name means black, hinting to him being a "shadow". *Punching the ball with your fist is a violation of the rules. Because Kuroko did this to accelerate the ball, when the volume 4 was published, this was changed to his palm instead of his fist. The second time he did a accelerating pass, it was shown with the palm of his hand.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 78, page 16 *In school, his best courses are humanities: history and geography.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 37, page 13 *His birthday is January 31 and his bloodtype is A. References Navigation Category:Characters Category:Players Category:Seirin High Category:Generation of Miracles Category:Referenced